Suwa's mind was filled with a lot of ideas after his talk with Moiya and Sezio. Without question, what had him most intrigued was hearing about titans. The idea that there might be something even greater out there than the beast whose shadow had loomed over his life since before he was born was more than he ever imagined. It should have terrified him, but instead he was intrigued. What else could be out there that he'd never known about?

The absolutely vast and unknown nature of the wild was definitely something that could keep his mind busy indefinitely, but it was hardly the only thing he had to think about. His other main topic of curiosity was much closer—what were the intentions of the companions he was traveling with?

“Moiya…”

“Yeah? Are you tired already, Suwa?”

“No, I just had a question. Why are you traveling?”

Moiya stopped moving for a moment, just long enough for Suwa to catch up with her before casting a glance at him and continuing to walk by his side. There was a brief moment of silence before she finally responded:

“What about you, Suwa? What are you traveling for?”

“Me? Well, I was kicked out of my home, so I have nowhere else to go.” Suwa answered, without realizing that his question had been reflected back at him. But he was dissatisfied with that answer and shook his head before changing it, “I want to learn more about the world. I'm just now realizing that I know even less than I thought; there are things I didn't even know that I didn't know. And I want to find the strength to protect the people I care about.”

“It’s a similar story for all of us as well. None of us have anywhere else to be. None of us have anywhere else we want to be. But the thing we want to protect,” Moiya paused just long enough to watch Sezio for a moment as he walked ahead of the group, “The person we want to protect is Sezio.”

Suwa's feet stopped as his eyes locked onto the group's leader. He knew Sezio was different—he could feel it, too—but was he really someone that everyone else could think so highly about? When Suwa said that he wanted to protect the people he cared about, he mostly meant family. Sure, Rena wasn’t technically family, but they were close enough. From what Suwa understood, Sezio's group weren't family, either. In fact, he sometimes doubted they would even be friends if it wasn't for Sezio.

“Why Sezio?” Suwa didn't mean to, but he let his thoughts surface as words. The moment he realized, he quickly covered his mouth, but Moiya had heard him. At first, he thought she would be angry, and the moment of silence seemed to indicate that as well, but then she laughed—an honest laugh, filled with the deepest kind of amusement.

“Hey, Sezio,” Moiya shouted, “Why don't you tell Suwa about that crazy dream you have. It sounds like he's interested."

This time, everyone stopped, and Suwa nearly panicked. The way Sezio turned to look at him, Suwa thought he was angry. But then he just sighed and turned away.

“Stop teasing me, Moiya,” Sezio said with a cool voice as he scratched his head, and Dobin and Luika laughed.

“I'm not! I might think it's an unachievable fantasy, but it takes a certain someone to be able to chase after dreams like that. Most people wouldn't even think of something like that, let alone think they could achieve it. So, why don't you tell him?”

“Okay, fine,” Sezio sighed again. “This is a good spot to rest, anyway. Suwa, what do you think about the community where you lived?”

“It's … fine, I guess? We're not usually allowed to leave, so it was all I knew until recently. I think that rule is because the elders are cowards, though, who are too afraid of the world.”

“Did you know that that sort of place has not existed for very long? The gehm originally lived in the wilds—we’re all from here. It wasn't until very recently that some gehm started to gather to create communities like that one, where everyone was able to live together without worrying about wandering the dangerous wilds. There are some beasts that are afraid of what might happen if we’re allowed to join together like that, though.”

“Like Rashendala?”

“Exactly. How does it feel to think that the beast that everyone you know is afraid of is also afraid of everyone you know.”

“But that's not possible. How could anyone that powerful be afraid of anything?”

“We’re all afraid of something, Suwa.”

Suwa tried to imagine the giant snake shivering in fear at the sight of everyone from his village. However, even in his mind, it was the group of gehm who ran away from the serpent. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't imagine it being any other way.

“Wait, what does that have to do with your dream, Sezio?”

“Yeah, don't forget what it is we want to hear,” Luika and the others were sitting down to listen to the conversation, as well.

“Okay,” Sezio continued. “My dream is what beasts like your Rashendala, and even some titans, fear the most. Imagine a village, like the one you grew up in, but even larger. So large that every gehm in Era lived there. Every gehm. All in one place. They could be protected and united—there would be no more gehm wandering alone in the wilds just trying to survive. Everyone would have a place.”

“See, Suwa, I told you it was crazy,” Moiya laughed as Sezio finished his explanation. But when she looked at Suwa to see his reaction, he was stunned. His mouth was open in wonder and a tear was rolling down his cheek.

When Suwa realized that everyone was looking at him, he also realized that he was crying and quickly wiped his eyes. At its core, Sezio's dream wasn't too different from his own, but it was at a much greater scale. It was crazy, just like Moiya had said, but somehow it felt like Sezio could really do it. “Can you really bring all the gehm together like that?”

“I don't know, that's why it's a dream. But I do know that it won't happen if I don't try.”

“What he doesn't tell you is that nobody knows the true vastness of the wilds of Era. Or how many gehm there are and where to find them. Even after all our traveling, the world seems endless,” Moiya added.

“But it's worth trying, right? To see it all, and to bring everyone together into one place.”

“We're here, aren't we?” Dobin said with a smile. “We’re going to keep this crazy dreamer company while he does the impossible.”

Everyone kept saying how it was impossible and a dream, but what Dobin said felt like it had even more weight. Despite the goal, they're all there, and they'll make it to the end. Together. It was this unity that Suwa always felt was missing from his home. If this was the kind of community that Sezio wanted to build, then Suwa wanted to be there when he did.